Police set off a water cannon against protestors during a demonstration against COVID-19 measures in Brussels, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. Demonstrators gathered in the Belgian capital to protest what they regard as overly extreme measures by the government to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, including a vaccine pass regulating access to certain places and activities and possible compulsory vaccines. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
BRUSSELS (AP) — Police fired water cannons and tear gas in Brussels on Sunday to disperse protesters marching against COVID-19 vaccinations and restrictions.
The march followed demonstrations in other European capitals on Saturday that also drew thousands of people protesting vaccine passports and other requirements that European governments have imposed in hopes of ending the coronavirus pandemic.
In Brussels, demonstrators chanted “Liberty!” as they marched.
White-helmeted police riot officers later sought to disperse protesters, who ignored instructions broadcast over loudspeakers that the demonstration was finished and that they should leave.
Police water cannon trucks fired powerful jets at protesters, while thick clouds of smoke and snaking trails of gas filled the air in the Belgian capital.
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